Bait
by Just Jill
Summary: There are many things Atobe would rather be doing than going to an informal business get together on Valentine's Day.


This was submitted last year for the lj community tenipuri's Valentine's Day competition. It never actually happened, and so now I submit it to you. Please enjoy. If you do decide to review, at least have the courtesy to sign in and allow me to answer any and all accusations.

**Disclaimer**: Characters are owned by Konomi Takeshi, and whoever did the anime. At any rate, it's not me.

* * *

Atobe Keigo was not looking forward to the informal gathering he had to attend that evening; whoever had decided to hold it on Valentine's Day must not have been thinking.

Not that he cared… well, okay, he did, even if he admitted it only to himself. He'd hoped to have the night to himself; he'd made plans, even. Although his plans included his boyfriend, it really wasn't the same at a function like this. Or anywhere in public.

His dependence on Kikumaru Eiji was decidedly odd, and he knew it. He was fairly certain most people didn't realize how much the other man's presence helped him relax – had since they were first years in High School. Heaven help him if anyone found out.

The thing was, though, he knew he could trust Eiji. After all, the other man owed Keigo his life.

"You're scowling."

Keigo looked up, smoothing his expression, to take in his partner.

Kikumaru Eiji was still slender, as willowy as he had been in Junior High. Gone was the flippy hairstyle, but the red hair was still long. He wore khaki pants and a dark blue polo shirt, un-tucked – as informal as he got anymore.

"Thinking about tonight?" the redhead asked. "What time is it, and do you need me to go?"

"It's at 21:00, and yes. It's going to be insane." His voice sounded the same; confident, firm.

"Are you sure _you_ should even be there?"

As strange as it seemed, he knew there was worry behind the casual question. "I have to be. We might be able to get them to back off, give us a little breathing room before everything collapses."

The casual curiosity was replaced by real worry, and Eiji crossed the room in quick strides, one hand falling on his arm. "Hey. Don't get all stressed now. You've got three hours before you have to face them."

Keigo took a deep breath, closing his eyes and letting it out again. "If they'd just let me alone for two weeks, I could counter everything they're throwing at me…."

Slender fingers, still callused from their occasional tennis matches, pressed his lips. "I know. And if you don't relax right now, you'll make more mistakes than you can afford to. You know it's Valentine's Day, right?"

Keigo opened his eyes again and smiled. "Yes, I do. I even had other plans," he said. "I'm sorry…."

But Eiji was shaking his head, eyes dancing. "For what? It's not your fault – well, okay, maybe it is, because they're just jealous of you – that they can't seem to keep their hands off your companies. You have some time. Come and relax."

Minutes later, Keigo was soaking in a tub of water up to his neck, and Eiji sat next to him, within reach. It was automatic, now; he reached over and dug his fingers into the thick red hair. The feel of it under his fingers eased the last of his tension, and he sighed, slipping further into the water. This was heaven.

When he got out, crinkled like a prune, it was only because the water was getting tepid and he'd been informed dinner was ready. Eiji helped him into a soft terry-cloth robe and took over the duties usually done by one of the maids – serving the food, pouring the tea, and anything else he needed.

"You don't seem too upset about the meeting tonight," Keigo said after a long silence; it had not escaped him that it was what was called a lover's dinner – full of rumored aphrodisiacs – and he wondered who had initiated that, Eiji or the cook. _He _hadn't thought of it.

"I get you to myself now, and afterward," Eiji said with a wink. "And I know how important this is," he added, becoming serious. "It wouldn't matter what the day was. Besides, I got to pamper you a little, and that doesn't happen every day."

Keigo didn't know what to say to that; to be honest, his mind was more than half on what was going to happen tonight at that blasted thing, whatever it was, and how he was going to extract himself from this mess. Eiji, thankfully, said nothing else.

* * *

It was as bad as Keigo had feared. He felt like… how did that song go? "Fins to the left, fins to the right, and you're the only bait in town." That was it – although why he'd remember some stupid song Shishido had played for him once, he didn't know, but it did fit. He felt like a particularly delicious fish in a pool of sharks. It was disconcerting, since he was used to being one of the sharks.

But he had his own little shark, circling with the others, and he caught sight of Eiji talking with the very man who was putting so much pressure on him. The redhead had a… vacant expression on his face, as if everything the other man was saying was going in one ear and out the other. Keigo wondered what the man was speaking of, but turned away and accepted a drink from a liveried servant as another man approached. This one was a potential ally – although Keigo wasn't sure how much he could trust what the man said, and the other man seemed to have the same uncertainty about him.

He'd managed to break away and sit down on one of the fashionable but uncomfortable couches around the edge of the room when Eiji found him. The redhead stood before him for a moment, then sank gracefully to the floor and leaned against his left leg. "I think I might have found something to give you that breather," he murmured. "I'll have someone check on it in the morning."

"Mm," Keigo said, and dug his fingers into that inviting hair, relaxing minutely as he did so. To his surprise, Eiji let out a contented purr – something he rarely did – but Keigo didn't react, wondering what the other man was up to.

"Just eye candy, is he?"

The CEO Eiji had been talking to had followed the redhead over, and he sat next to Keigo with a self-assurance that bordered on arrogance.

Keigo merely shrugged; just talking to this man gave him a headache. He sipped at the drink in his hand without tasting it.

"He's pretty enough, I suppose," the man went on. "Looks like a pampered house cat."

Eiji looked up at him with a toothy grin. "Nya," he said softly, and rubbed his head on Keigo's knee.

Keigo nearly dropped his drink. He didn't know how Eiji kept surprising him; the redhead had always seemed so simple in Junior High. It wasn't as if they hadn't been together for some years now, either.

The CEO chuckled and moved his hand as if to pet Eiji himself, but refrained when Keigo's gaze sharpened. "He's a good listener, though, I suppose."

"Yes," Keigo said neutrally. "He's good to talk to. I've gotten some very good ideas, talking at him." He leaned forward and his hand slid down to the base of Eiji's neck, giving him a brief massage in apology for speaking like this about him – and found a most curious thing.

No. He wasn't going to think about that now; he needed to concentrate.

"Where did you find him?"

Eiji's forehead rested on his knee, effectively hiding his face, and Keigo could feel the other man's suppressed laughter. "Oh, he's been with the family for years," he said airily. "I found him in the main park in Tokyo one afternoon when I was in High School." Where students from his own school were trying to get him drunk.

The other man gave him a vague, uncomprehending look, then shook his head with a laugh. "I'm sure you did," he said in a tone that meant he didn't believe him at all.

Keigo smiled thinly, not amused. "He was on an opposing tennis team in Junior High," he said blandly. "That's how we met." He tugged lightly on Eiji's hair, and the other man looked at him, composure regained. "Would you get me a refill of this?"

Eiji got gracefully to his feet, took the glass with a bow his butler would have been proud of, and vanished into the crowd. "I'd like someone like that," the other man said, watching him go, and there was a note in his voice Keigo didn't like.

"My kitty-cat can't be bought," Keigo said, perhaps a little too defensively. "You'll have to find your own."

The man laughed heartily. "Yes, I will," he said, took his leave, and left as well.

Not much later, Keigo decided it was time to go. He'd gotten some information, made a few contacts that, if he could get out of his current situation, would pan out beautifully, and had been seen.

It was enough.

In the limo, halfway home, he remembered what he'd felt at the base of Eiji's neck, and reached up to unbutton the other man's shirt far enough to reveal the small collar he'd given him – oh, as seniors in High School? – complete with bell.

"It fits, don't you think?" Eiji asked, amusement animating his face. "Especially since he thinks I'm nothing but a pampered house cat."

"You are anything _but_ a pampered house cat," Keigo said reprovingly, but then he had to laugh as he remembered the man's face. "Although you certainly can act like one."

Eiji leaned forward, rubbing his head on Keigo's shoulder. "Nya," he whispered, his breath ghosting across Keigo's throat, and that combined with the memory of the first time he'd put that collar on Eiji, made his suit pants suddenly very uncomfortable. His eyes narrowed.

"You, get in that corner until we get home," he said hoarsely, and had to clear his throat to speak clearly. "I don't want you near me until then."

Eiji winked and leaned back into the corner – prominently displaying the collar at his throat, and only making it worse.

Oh, he had plans for this Valentine's Night – and Eiji would regret this little game.

Or else he'd play it again, much sooner. He hoped that was the case.

* * *

The song reference is to Jimmy Buffet's "Fins"


End file.
